Putting the Magic Back into Magic
by madamsnape78
Summary: Hermione is about to turn thirty and realizes that life isn't as exciting as she thought it would be. She goes about trying to change that. SSHG
1. Ginny's Birthday

_A/N: A bit of a warning- this has not been beta-read. My beta is currently working on another much longer fic of mine that and I didn't want to overwhelm her by asking her to look at this one too. It's not terribly long, only 7 chapters, so hopefully you can put up with any mistakes._

_This story is dedicated to anyone who has ever woken up one morning, looked around and thought "this isn't what my life was supposed to be."_

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Chapter 1-Ginny's Birthday

Hermione Granger sat staring at the blank four walls of her tiny office. She sighed and glanced impatiently at her watch.

'_Five more minutes,'_ she thought. '_He better be on time so I can get out of here.'_

He had a standing 4:45 appointment every Monday afternoon. He was never late, and the meeting never took more than the allotted fifteen minutes, but today of all days she was especially impatient. She glanced at her watch again. Never did her job seem more boring and mundane than at the end of the day; not that working in the War Reimbursement Department of Gringott's was ever exactly exciting. Oh, who was she kidding, she _was_ the War Reimbursement Department; just herself and the tiny office that she occupied. It was fitting, she supposed, that this was to be her life. After all, she received monthly checks from the Ministry for her efforts as well, so who better to also be in charge of the accounts for everyone else.

She was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of footsteps stopping just outside her door. The door was always open, unless she had an appointment, and he knew to come in. Yet he still paused outside every week until he was invited in.

"Good afternoon, Professor Snape," Hermione said without turning her head. "Please come in."

She heard him walk in and shut the door and she turned to look at him. He had aged in the years since he had been her professor, both from the passage of time and from the hardships that had befallen him, but he still had much the same look to him. His dark hair still hung to his shoulders, although it was now streaked with gray, he still was dressed entirely in black and his face still held the same sneer she remembered from her first Potions class.

"I have told you to stop calling me that, Miss Granger," he said sitting down in the chair in front of her desk. "I haven't been a professor in years."

"Well, until you give me permission to use your first name, Sir, I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to what else to call you, so you will just have to put up with it." There was a time when she wouldn't have dared to speak to him so directly, but she had seen him every week for three years now and she knew exactly what she could and could not say. As she expected he did not comment and she opened the file in front of her.

"I assume you would like to make you usual withdrawal?" she said briskly and he nodded. She pulled a piece of parchment out of the file and handed it to him.

"Just sign here," she said handing him both the parchment and a quill. He signed quickly and she handed him a small velvet bag with the Gringotts seal on it. "Twenty Galleons."

He picked up the bag and stood up nodding his head toward her. "Good evening, Miss Granger."

"I will see you next week, Professor," Hermione said and before the sentence was finished he was out the door. She smiled to herself and shook her head. Some things would never change and Severus Snape was among those.

Granted, no one was accusing him of being a Death Eater these days; not after Dumbledore's memories had so clearly shown that it had been he who had ordered Snape to murder him in an effort to preserve his status as a spy. But the man was still as cross and unfriendly as he had always been.

Hermione did not spend time dwelling on her visitor, however. A quick glance at her watch told her that if she did not hurry, she was going to be late. She grabbed her cloak and wand and rushed out of her office, down the hall and through the front doors of Gringotts. She hurried down the white marble steps and down Diagon Alley until she reached the Leaky Cauldron. Because of this she was quite out of breath by the time she reached the table in the corner where her four friends were already seated.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, breathless and sitting down, reaching for a butterbeer.

"We were starting to wonder," Harry said with a smile. "What kept you?"

"Professor Snape," she said rolling her eyes and the rest of the group groaned.

"I can't believe you were late for Ginny's birthday party because of that greasy git," Ron said with a scowl.

"Well, it's not as if I can help it. It _is_ my job," Hermione huffed, but then she turned to Ginny with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I tried to hurry, but he has a standing 4:45 appointment every Monday."

"It's alright," Ginny said smiling and leaning against Harry who had his arm around her. "I was just showing everyone Harry's birthday present." She the pulled her left hand out and flashed a large diamond ring at Hermione.

"Oohh!" Hermione couldn't help but squeal. "It's about time, Harry."

"Yeah I know. Here Ron and Luna have already celebrated their second anniversary," Harry said nodding toward the other couple.

"Well," Luna said gazing a bit dreamily at her husband, "I did have to give him a nudge."

Hermione had to suppress a laugh. Luna had finally blackmailed Ron into a proposal telling him if he didn't get on with it she would curse him in ways that would prevent any woman from looking at him again. At least she had managed, though. Hermione had dated Ron for several years before his lack of commitment had become too frustrating and their relationship had fallen apart. It had taken some time to get past the bitterness and resentment, but eventually they were able to get back to the friendship they had shared at Hogwarts and Ron had found happiness with Luna.

"Have you two set a date yet?" Hermione asked and Harry shook his head.

"No, but I'd like to do it before next summer when I turn thirty," he said finishing his butterbeer and waving to Tom to order another one.

"I think he's starting to feel a bit old," Ginny said, grinning. "I told him he's being silly. I mean, you're almost thirty and you're not panicking, are you?"

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose not," she said noncommittally.

If she wanted to be honest with herself, she preferred not to think of her upcoming birthday. As much as she enjoyed her life, she had never imagined that she would be living alone, with no romantic attachments and working in a tiny office in a bank. She remembered when she had first found out she was a witch. She had imagined a life filled with excitement and adventure and, while she had experienced her share of adventure, she never thought magical life could become so… unmagical.

"Hey, that's right!" Ron piped up. "You're birthday is next month! We need to do something! I mean, you only turn thirty once, right?"

"Merlin, I hope so," Hermione muttered under her breath. Only Harry seemed to have heard her and he chuckled.

"Really, Hermione," Luna said, "you should do something exciting; like go on an expedition for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.

"I'll keep that in mind," Hermione said as she shared a grin with Ron.

"Well, whatever you decide, you tell us," Harry said. "You never celebrate your birthday. Just once you should go out and have a good time."

"Yeah, like a normal witch," Ron chimed in. "Don't be asking for a book or anything."

Hermione decided to ignore Ron's inadvertent insult and instead engaged Ginny in an in-depth conversation about her wedding. It wasn't one she necessarily enjoyed, having never been terribly interested in tradition female topics of conversation, but anything was better that discussing her own birthday.

Finally the evening grew late enough that she felt she had to return home and everyone agreed that it was time to end the evening. Ron or Luna did not have to worry much about being at work early. Ron was now managing the Diagon Alley branch of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and Luna was assistant editor for the Quibbler and working for family allowed them some freedom regarding their work hours. But Harry had to be at Auror Headquarters early the next morning and Ginny had an early shift as Healer at St. Mungos. She said good-bye to her friends, promising each of them she would let them know what she wanted for her birthday, and she caught the Muggle Underground back to her flat.

It was not necessary, of course, to use Muggle transportation, and she didn't do it every time, but there was something comforting about going through the motions she was so used to as a child. It was important to her that she retained her connections to that world. Sometimes she felt strangely like she was between the two worlds. Although she lived her life as a witch, living in the Muggle world also felt just as natural.

It was late by the time she unlocked the door to her flat and she collapsed, exhausted onto the old, worn out sofa in the living room. She laid her head back and thought about the evening. She was so glad that Harry had finally proposed to Ginny, but it made her own life feel a little more empty than usual. She had never given much thought to her solitary life, but perhaps her life had become a little too predictable… boring even.

Maybe, she thought as she began to prepare herself for bed, it wouldn't hurt to take her friends up on their offers. Perhaps do something a little spontaneous, something that Hermione Granger, former Head Girl of Hogwarts, recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class, wouldn't normally do. Slowly ideas started coming to her; things she had always wanted to do, or was too afraid to do, or even that she didn't think were appropriate for a level-headed bookworm.

Before climbing into bed, she walked over to her desk, sat down and pulled out a roll of parchment and a quill. She carefully made a list of everything she wanted to do for her birthday. After much thought and consideration, she had three items listed.

_1. Do something death defying_

_2. Take some time to dream_

_3. Believe in the unbelievable_

She thought long and hard as she looked at the parchment. Slowly she added one more item to the list, almost embarrassed to admit it to herself. Still, as she finished, she smiled to herself and went to bed.


	2. Harry's Gift

_A/N: Thanks to everyone for the great reviews! I said in the last chapter that this would be seven chapters, but I must have been confused because its only six. So, obviously I'm not going to go into a lot of background on certain charecters, so if there is anything you have questions about, just ask. I'd be happy to answer. Also, the story is done so I'll be updating either every day or every other day._

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Chapter 2- Harry's Gift

Hermione's plan began the next morning when Harry stopped by her office to withdraw some Galleons.

"So, I've decided what I want from you for my birthday," she said as she handed him the requisite forms.

"Oh really?" Harry asked arching an eyebrow as he scrawled his name on the parchment. "That's unusual for you. Normally it's like pulling teeth to get you to make up your mind. So what's it going to be?"

Hermione smiled at him, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Quidditch lessons."

"What?" Harry nearly shouted looking up from his parchment. "What do you want to do a thing like that for? Hermione, you hate flying."

"I know. That's why I want to do it. You know, try something new."

"But I'm not even sure how much I can teach you. I mean, you can't really learn Quidditch you just sort of do it."

"Well," Hermione said, thinking, "Perhaps you could just teach me to do something really exciting, like how to dodge a Bludger or do that Wronski thing you and Ron always talk about."

"Hermione, are you feeling alright?" Harry said suddenly appearing concerned, although Hermione could see a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Why would you want to learn something like that? I mean, what if you broke your hand and couldn't turn the pages of a book?"

"Oh, very funny, Harry," Hermione said sarcastically. "I just thought that, well, I might explore some aspects of wizarding life that I haven't paid much attention to before."

"Well, alright, if you're sure about it," Harry finally said. "But you can't fly that Comet 290 you have."

"What's wrong with it? It was their latest model when I bought it!"

"Yeah, ten years ago. Hermione, if you tried a Wronski Feint on that thing you'd get plowed into the ground. Assuming to you could accelerate fast enough to even get that far. I still have my old Firebolt; you can borrow that."

"Great!" Hermione grinned and Harry couldn't help but smile back. He couldn't remember the last time Hermione was so excited about something.

"Okay, why don't we meet on Saturday at the Burrow? Fred and George had hoops put up there last summer. It's not regulation or anything, but it should work."

They agreed to meet at ten o'clock Saturday morning and Harry left, leaving Hermione to her boring four walls and her thoughts. But at least she had something to look forward to now and for once the day did not drag quite so slowly.

* * *

At ten o'clock Saturday morning, Hermione Apparated to the Burrow. She had not been there in several months and the familiar sight of the crooked house and overgrown garden made her feel lighthearted, almost as if she were a teenager again. She walked up to the house and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" called the familiar voice of Molly Weasley.

"Hermione," she called back and the door flung open to reveal the short red-headed woman. She was grayer and more tired looking these days, but that was to be expected having lost both her husband and Charlie in the war. Still, she flung her arms around Hermione giving her a hug and kiss worthy of one of her own children.

"Come on in, dear. I haven't seen you in ages. Would you like a bite of breakfast?"

Hermione was about to refuse when a large plate of eggs, sausages and toast was set in front of her. Unable to find a way to avoid it, she began eating and realized that she was a bit hungrier than she expected. As she ate, Molly continued to chat as she bustled about the kitchen.

"Harry told me that you wanted Quidditch lessons for your birthday," she said setting a cup of tea in front of Hermione. "I can't imagine what you're thinking! Of course any excuse that brings you to the Burrow is a good one to me. I just hope that you are careful. Those kids play so rough!"

Hermione had to smile. The youngest of the 'kids' had just turned twenty-eight the previous week. Molly didn't notice though as she continued talking.

"I'm sure you heard about Harry and Ginny's big announcement?" she asked looking up and Hermione nodded. "Took him long enough didn't it? It will be nice to finally have him officially a member of the family; not that he really needs to be. Harry will always be family to us. And you too dear," she said with a smile. Hermione knew Molly had been disappointed when she and Ron had broken up, but in time she had come to know Luna and she seemed perfectly happy with the situation now.

She was just finishing her last piece of toast when Harry and Ginny walked in the door, broomsticks in hand.

"You ready?" Harry asked after they had greeted Molly. "I hope you don't mind, but Ginny wanted to join in. And I think Ron might be coming by too. Nobody can believe you're going to do this."

Hermione laughed. "Honestly, Harry, I'm just going to do a bit of flying."

The group was just heading out to the field behind the house when Ron also showed up.

"Where's Luna?" Hermione asked as Harry handed her his old Firebolt.

"She had a story due for the _Quibbler_," Ron said getting ready to mount his own broom. "Besides, she's always been more of a Quiddich…uh… spectator, rather than a participant. She said to tell you good luck, though."

"Alright, Hermione," Harry said as she began to mount the broom. "Now, the important thing to remember about a racing broom like this is that it's very sensitive. A small movement of the hand is all it takes for it to move in a different direction, ok?"

Hermione nodded and pushed off. That was all it took for her to remember why she didn't like flying. She soared up in the air until she was above the trees looking down at her friends with a panicked expression. Harry saw her look of terror and quickly joined her.

"You alright there?" he asked as she tried to keep the broom steady. She jerked her head in as close to a nod as she could manage without taking her eyes off her broomstick.

"Alright," Harry said but he didn't sound convinced. "Now, the first thing I'll teach you is how to avoid the Bludger." He nodded to Ron down below who let the Bludger out of the box and grabbed a bat before coming up to join them along with Ginny.

"Okay, Hermione," Ron said as he reached them. "Now you and Harry go over there and I'll hit the Bludger in your direction. Not right at you, of course, but enough so Harry can show you what to do."

Hermione followed Harry to a spot several yards away. She was beginning to feel more comfortable and was even beginning to think that perhaps she could do this after all.

"You just follow me, okay?" Harry said and then he turned back around. "Alright Ron," Harry yelled and as soon as the Bludger was within swinging distance, Ron hit it toward them.

Before Hermione had a chance to think, Harry was taking off, diving toward the ground. She gritted her teeth and followed after him. It seemed that she was freefalling they were going so fast and just when she was sure she was going to lose that breakfast Molly had fed her, Harry was evening out. She followed his direction, just barely holding on to her broom as the force of her weight continued to want to go downward. Before she had a chance to breathe, though, Harry was suddenly zigzagging and climbing back up. She followed as best she could and when they finally stopped next to Ginny (who calmly knocked the Bludger away) she was out of breath and her hands were slippery with sweat.

"Not bad!" Harry said, also out of breath. "Okay, you handled that pretty well, so next I'm going to teach you the Sloth Grip Roll."

"What's that?" Hermione asked feeling a fluttery feeling in her stomach. She didn't think the word "Roll" was a good sign.

"It's a way to avoid a Bludger where you roll upside down." Harry said this as if it was not a death sentence. He saw the look of apprehension on Hermione's face. "If you don't feel comfortable with it, we can do something a little easier."

"No!" The last thing Hermione wanted was to be a coward about this. "It sounds like… great fun."

"Okay. Now, it's really just like any other bit of flying you would do. You just use your hands and your body weight to pull you upside down. You just have to make sure you have enough momentum to pull you back up again. Ginny, you show her how to do it."

Hermione watched as Ginny effortlessly flew out in front of them and rolled upside down and then back right side up again. It looked like it took no work at all.

'_I can do this,' _Hermione thought to herself. '_That looked easy.'_

She moved out and using her hand and body weight, flipped over onto her back just as effortlessly as Ginny had. There was only one problem. She couldn't seem to get back again. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pull herself right side up. After several long seconds she realized that the dampness of her hands was going to be a serious problem. As her hands slowly slipped from the broom, the last thought she had was that freefalling really was much faster than flying.

* * *

"I can't believe you taught her that, Harry!"

"She said she wanted to learn something exciting! How was I to know…"

"Merlin's beard Harry! It took me three months to get it right!"

"Poor dear! She's lucky she wasn't hurt worse. Nothing a bone mending charm couldn't fix."

Hermione could hear voices long before she had the strength to open her eyes. When she finally did, she peered up into the concerned faces of Harry, Ginny, Ron and Molly.

"Hermione! You alright?" Ron asked; his face pale.

"Urgh…" was all Hermione could manage to groan out. "Am I still alive?"

"Yeah," Harry said, breathing out a sigh of relief. "You scared us, though. Good thing Ginny keeps her wand with her when she flies. She was able to soften the fall a bit."

"Thanks," Hermione croaked out and Ginny smiled. Molly suddenly pulled a bottle of potion out of her apron.

"Take this, dear. It's for the pain."

Hermione took the potion from her, swallowing some. That taste was horrible but as soon as it was down, she began to feel a bit better. She laid her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes for a moment.

"So how many bones did you have to fix, Molly?" she asked reopening her eyes. She saw the four exchange glances. "What?" she asked feeling nervous.

"Well," Molly began, "I just had to mend your arm, leg and nose. But… well… you're face is a bit bruised. I'm afraid I wasn't able to do much for that."

"What?" Hermione asked sitting up in bed, which she immediately regretted from the stabs of pain that she felt. "Let me see."

Ginny handed her a mirror and she put it up in front of her face.

"Oh Merlin," she mumbled as she stared into it. She had two black eyes and her lip was puffy. "I look like I've been in a fist fight."

"Well, look on the bright side," Ron said cheerfully, "You definitely did something different for your birthday."

Harry and Ginny snickered at this and, as Hermione lay back on the pillow, she looked up at her friends and couldn't help but laugh as well.

* * *

Severus Snape walked swiftly through the imposing front door of Gringott's at precisely 4:42 the following Monday. A couple of people nodded at him and he took pleasure in ignoring them. There was a time all he wanted was recognition from wizarding society, but that time was many years past and all he wanted now was to be left alone. They were hypocrites, all of them. How many of these people would have snubbed him fifteen years ago? Before he had helped to destroy the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters; before Harry Potter had so publicly declared that he was not a traitor? There were very few people that he could tolerate anymore and he was going to see one of them.

Severus would never go so far as to say that he _enjoyed_ Hermione Granger's company, but at least she did not make his days any more miserable than they already were. She was fast, efficient, reliable and, most importantly, silent. She was also one of the few people with whom he had regular contact. He took pleasure in the routine of his life and this was part of it. Every Monday afternoon she was waiting for him with the same amount of money and the forms already waiting for his signature.

He supposed it also didn't hurt that she was one of the few people in the world who actually _knew_ him. Or, at least knew him as well as anyone. She had been his student for six years and then fought along side him in her last year at Hogwarts. They had even been in the same ward of St. Mungo's after the final battle, along with half of the rest of the Order.

So, as Severus walked down the hall and stood in front of Hermione's open door, it was with a certain amount of surprise that he took in her appearance. She was never a very attractive witch, although she looked better than she had as a student. Her teeth were no longer so large and she had a pleasant face, but her hair was just a frizzy as it had ever been and she always looked a bit too thin. Still, he was completely unprepared for the current state of her face. It looked as if she had been hit with a Bludger.

"Come in Professor," she croaked looking rather pitiful as she glanced up from her papers.

"What happened to you, Miss Granger?" he asked, a little surprised with his own curiosity.

"Quidditch lessons," she said, her face turning an interesting shade of pink. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Maybe she did get hit with a Bludger. He sat down in the chair as she handed him over the parchment.

"The usual withdrawal?" she asked and he nodded signing the paper. As he finished she handed him the velvet bag with the Galleons. When he did not immediately stand, she gave him an inquisitive look.

"Is there something else I can do for you, Professor?"

"I am just wondering what would posses a level-headed witch such as yourself to do something as foolhardy as take Quidditch lessons? As I recall, you are an abysmal flier."

Hermione was unsure whether to feel complimented that he thought her level-headed or be insulted by his comment on her flying skills. Considering the current state of her face, she ignored the insult and accepted the compliment. He stared at her waiting for her reply.

"I…um… well, I asked for them for my birthday," she said as proudly as she could manage.

"I see," Severus said, but in truth he couldn't see at all. It was a completely illogical thing for her to do and Hermione was, if anything, always logical. "Well, I suppose I should wish you a happy birthday, then."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wondered what possessed him to say such a thing. He never wished a happy anything to anyone. Perhaps she just looked too pathetic sitting across from him, her eyes so swollen she had to squint just to see him.

"Oh, my birthday isn't for another month," Hermione said, feeling even more embarrassed. "I just got a… uh… head start."

"Well, Miss Granger," Severus said deciding he had had enough conversation for one day, or one week for that matter, "I will not take any more of your time. Good evening."

"See you next week, Professor," Hermione mumbled. He rose and walked out of Gringott's in the very same fashion he had walked in, his mind still trying to process what had happened to the reliable, efficient… even boring… Hermione Granger. Oh, true she had gotten into her fair share of trouble when she was a student. She was always following Potter and Weasley's lead and that inevitably involved a trip to the hospital wing. But in the years since she left Hogwarts, she had settled down and become more the kind of person she would have always been had she had more sensible friends. He had seen her every week for three years and he had never seen her the least bit unruffled or unprepared. Something, clearly, was changing.


	3. Ron's Gift

_A/N: Thanks so much for everyone's reviews!_

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Chapter 3- Ron's Gift

It took Hermione the better part of the week to begin to feel normal again. Her face still retained some bruising, but she no longer felt as if she had been run over by the Knight Bus. As the weekend finally arrived, she decided it was time to pay a visit to Ron regarding her birthday present from him.

She arrived at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shortly after lunch on Saturday. The store was doing a good business, especially since it was the end of summer and students were stocking up before returning to Hogwarts. She had to squeeze her way through to the back room where she knew Ron would be, taking inventory as he did every weekend.

"Hermione!" Ron said looking up from a stack of parchment, reading glasses perched on his nose and a quill in hand. She had to smile at the sight. He looked positively Percy-like, although she didn't dare say as much. There were still hard feelings between Percy and the rest of his siblings, even if his mother had forgiven him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked waving a wand so that a box of Canary Creams flew off the nearby chair. Hermione sat down.

"Well, honestly, I came to tell you what I want for my birthday."

Ron's mouth gaped open. "Really? You came all the way to the store just for that? You know, you could have just owled or floo-called me."

"I know," Hermione said, beginning to blush. How was she ever going to tell him her request with a straight face? "But it's actually one of your products that I would like."

The look on Ron's face couldn't have been more shocked and Hermione let out a nervous laugh at the sight. When he recovered from the shock, though, he looked positively delighted.

"Well, sure! What do you want? Anything you can think of, Hermione. It's on the house."

"Well," Hermione began, fighting the urge to laugh again. What had possessed her to be so silly? "You know those Patented Daydream Charms you have? Well, I've always been rather interested in them. You know, to see how they work; strictly out of curiosity of course."

By the time she finished speaking, Ron was laughing so hard that Hermione thought he was going to start choking. His face was bright red and finally she had to conjure a glass of water for him. When he finally calmed down, however, she found she was feeling more than a little annoyed at him.

"Honestly, Ron. If you're going to make such a big deal of it, just forget it. I just always thought it was a clever bit of magic on the twins' part. I just wondered how realistic they made them."

"Oh don't be mad," Ron said, realizing that he had hurt her feelings, but still unable to wipe the grin off his face. "You've just been acting so strange lately. You've always been the studious, serious one. I never pictured you being one for having daydreams. I didn't even know you knew how to daydream."

"Well, wouldn't this be a good time to learn?" Hermione asked, still feeling a bit defensive.

"Alright, Hermione. If you want a Daydream Charm, I'd be more than happy to give it to you. Hell, you can have a whole case of them. Come on, I'll go get it for you."

Hermione followed him back out into the main part of the store. He reached the small display and handed a small box to her.

"So, uh… how exactly do these work?" she asked as she discretely took the box and put it in her pocket.

"Well, you just say the incantation in the box and swallow the potion provided, and it will provide you with a realistic thirty minute daydream."

"And… what exactly will the daydream be like? Are they the same for everyone?"

"Oh no!" Ron said looking almost offended. "I mean, what might be a great daydream for one person, might be a nightmare for someone else. The potion uses your own subconscious to determine what you would most like to dream about. It's a new technique, actually. They used to just have the incantation, but this way they are so much more suited to the person using it. A big improvement, I must say."

Hermione looked at him slyly. "Have you ever used one?"

"Uh… well, it's part of my job to try all of our products," Ron said, his face beginning to color.

"And?" Hermione asked arching her eyebrow. "How was it?"

"Erm… very nice; really, a high quality product."

Hermione laughed outright at the look on his face and it was clear he was not going to go into any further detail. She thanked him and left the store with a silly grin on her face, feeling that she was being rather daring.

She had meant to go straight home and try it out, but as luck would have it, she ran into Susan Bones as she was walking down Diagon Alley and had been talked into going to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink. In the end, several of her former classmates had shown up and she hadn't been able to get away until very late that night.

The next day she overslept. She was not used to staying out late, and so she had to hurry about to meet her parents for lunch. She still went over to her parents' house once or twice a month for dinner and was almost always an all day affair. This day was no different and it was only after her mother sent her home with a bag full of leftovers and reminders that they would see her the weekend after her birthday that Hermione finally managed to escape. By then it was again late and although Hermione grasped onto the box in her pocket whistfully, she put the thought aside. It wouldn't do to show up at work the next morning sleep deprived because she was too busy _daydreaming _of all silly things.

So this was why at 4:00 Monday afternoon, as Hermione checked the clock for the twentieth time since lunch, she made the rash decision to try it out. She had forty-five minutes until her appointment with Professor Snape and according to both the box and Ron the charm would only last thirty minutes. That would leave more than enough time and it would make the last hour of her day pass much quicker than it normally did.

She hurried over to where she had hung up her cloak and fumbled for the small box. She pulled it out and rushed back over to her desk. Now that she had decided to use it, she wanted to hurry before she changed her mind. She tore open the box and quickly read the instructions, glancing out of her office door to make sure no one was watching. Sitting back in her chair, she swallowed the potion and read the incantation.

She suddenly felt as if a swirling fog was surrounding her. She realized she was walking down a long, cold hallway. There was a door at the end of the hall and she reached out and turned in. Inside was a library.

She couldn't help but laugh at herself. Only she would have a daydream about finding a library. She should have known her mind would choose something like this rather than something romantic like the pirate ship that was displayed on the outside of the box. Still, it was amazing to her how realistic it all seemed. She could smell the smoke of the fire in the fireplace; she could feel the leather of the binding on the books as she ran her hand along it. She was excited to discover that not only were all her favorite books here, that there was an extensive reference section, including many books she had always wanted to explore in the restricted section of Hogwarts. Her only problem now, was that thirty minutes was not going to be nearly enough time to explore the room and she was dying to read many of these books.

It was dim in the room; only the fireplace provided any light and she noticed she did not have her wand with her so she was unable to create any more light. She felt untroubled by this, though, as she continued to explore the room. She finally made her way to the back of the room and the last row of shelves where she had to squint just to see the titles, when she heard someone move behind her. She turned around quickly to see someone, a man, towering over her.

It was dark enough that she couldn't quite make out his features. He was quite tall and dressed in black and Hermione felt almost a bit let down. He didn't look like he was just going to let her read.

"Who are you?" she whispered backing against a row of books.

"Who do you want me to be?" he asked in a low, gravely voice. Although he seemed vaguely familiar, she was quite sure she had never met him before.

Hermione could feel herself blushing. This was not what she had imagined. He was… unnerving. She could feel his body heat and she could hear him breathing as he moved close to her.

"I… I don't want you to be anybody," she said wishing he would back away.

"Liar," he said, sounding amused. She could sense more than see his smile.

"Excuse me! I am _not_ a liar!" This was getting ridiculous. She was arguing with her fantasy. But instead of her reaction pushing him away, he was moving closer, until she could feel his breath on her cheek as he bent down to whisper in her ear.

"You _are_ a liar. And you are not the prim and proper young woman you would have everyone believe."

"I don't know what you mean," Hermione breathed. She could hardly believe her subconscious would create _this._

"If you were, I wouldn't be your fantasy." His lips were so close to hers they were nearly touching. If she moved but a millimeter forward they would be kissing.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She could feel his hands gripping her arms.

"Liar." He had moved forward that last millimeter as he spoke so the word was said against her lips. His lips were soft, but firm and she could feel his tongue slide against her bottom lip. She opened her mouth to him and groaned as he deepened the kiss, wrapping her hands in his hair. Any remaining distance between their bodies was closed and she pressed against him. His body was hard and strong and she shuddered as he slid his arms against her body.

Somewhere in the back of her practical mind, she was amazed at how real this all felt; his hands, his mouth, his body. If she didn't know better she would think she was really kissing a man. This was amazing, this was incredible, this was… all beginning to fade away. The mist that had preceded the daydream was now returning. She mentally groaned at the terrible timing. Couldn't it have lasted just another five minutes?

Yet, even as the library began to fade away, the man didn't. He was still standing there, clutching her arms, albeit a bit more stiffly than before, their mouths fused together. She felt her heart give one joyous leap before it gave a monumental plunge. The only way she could still be kissing this man would be if he were real and not part of the daydream. And the only way he could be real would be if he was… Oh Merlin!

She stiffened and pulled away, wrenching her eyes open. It was exactly what she had feared. There, standing across from her, somehow looking confused, embarrassed and angry all at the same time, was Severus Snape.

"Professor!" she gasped covering her mouth with her hand. She wondered if it would be insulting to begin wiping it. "I'm so sorry, Sir."

For a moment she thought that he was not going to respond. Or that he would turn around and leave without his money. The look on his face was enough to make _her_ want to turn around and leave without giving him his money.

"Please explain yourself, Miss Granger." His voice was cold and Hermione tried desperately to think of something to say, but her mind still seemed muddled and cloudy.

"I'm sorry Professor," she said again trying to think of the right words. "I… I'm not entirely well at the moment. Perhaps it would be best if you told me what exactly I did first. I'm feeling a bit… confused.

"That much is clear," he said, glaring at her. "When I arrived, the door was open as usual. I waited for permission to enter, but you did not give it to me. You were standing by the wall; you looked confused as if you were looking for something. I asked if you were in need of some sort of assistance. You turned around but you did not speak, Instead you… you…" He broke off, clearly unable to verbalize what had happened. It didn't matter; Hermione already knew.

"I'm very sorry, Professor," Hermione said, unable to meet his eyes. "I… uh… well I thought you were someone else. I can assure you that I will never do something so unprofessional again."

It was close to the truth. Severus, however, was not falling for it. He walked forward to her desk and picked up the box that was sitting on it.

"Patented Daydream Charms," he read and looked over at her. "This is a product from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, is it not?"

Hermione wanted to crawl away and die from embarrassment. What had she been thinking? Instead she just nodded her head.

"Yes, Professor." She felt as if she were back at Hogwarts again.

"Isn't this product meant more for hormonal teenagers?"

This was getting worse by the moment. "It was a birthday gift," she mumbled. "From Ron. I just wanted to do something fun for once in my life; something that required no thinking."

"I see. Fun; such as taking Quidditch lessons? You seem to be getting yourself into some interesting situations lately, Miss Granger, although I suppose it's no surprise that Weasley gave you something that required no thinking. As I recall he was rather opposed to that activity. It's a shame you seem to be exhibiting the same disregard for propriety that you did in school. Here I was just beginning to admire your predictability.

Had Hermione not been so thoroughly humiliated, she would have been shocked at the idea that Severus Snape admired her for anything, even if it was only for being boring. As it was, she continued to stare at the floor while she walked back to her desk.

"As I said, Sir, I am very sorry for what happened. Had I been aware that this could be a consequence, I would have never taken it knowing I could be interrupted."

Severus gave her a long hard look and some of his fury seemed to have drained away. "Considering we will still be interacting on a weekly basis, perhaps it would be best if we put this behind us. Presuming, of course, that you keep such nonsense to your private life from now on."

Hermione had a feeling that she thought would be very similar to having turned in a sub-par potion in Potions class. She mumbled another "yes sir" and Severus took his seat.

"Do you want to make the usual withdrawal?" she asked hoping to change the subject.

"Yes," he said, sparing her the humiliation of having to look at him. She handed him the parchment and quill, willing her hand not to shake. He signed it and she handed him the money.

"I will see you next week Professor," she said as he began to rise. As he stood though, he did not walk away as she expected. She glanced up to see him looking at her.

"Perhaps," he began, looking uncomfortable, "considering the circumstances, it would be no longer appropriate for you to call me Professor. It seems rather sordid, don't you think? You may call me by my first name, if you so wish."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. She never thought she would see the day when he gave her permission to call him Severus.

"Well, alright then," she said with a smile. "I will see you next week, Severus."

"Good evening, Hermione," he said curtly and he stalked out the door. Hermione's smile grew wider as he left. This wouldn't have been the situation she would have chosen for herself, but there could be worse things, she supposed. As she reflected on it, and once her face stopped burning from embarrassment, there was one thought that kept lingering in her mind. Who would have guessed Severus Snape was such a good kisser?

* * *

Severus walked away from Hermione's office as fast as his legs could carry him without breaking into a run. He could not get the image of her out of his mind, or the taste of her off of his lips. He knewthat she had only kissed him because of that bloody charm. He also knew that as of this moment she was probably disinfecting her mouth. When she had said good-bye, though, she had smiled genuinely at him; perhaps the first genuine smile he had received in years. He wished he could convince himself that such things didn't matter to him. But today she had practically thrown herself into his arms when he had arrived and he had behaved in precisely the same manner all men would. It had been far too long since he had had any physical contact with a woman and he hadn't been able to help himself. He liked to think that he didn't have such base physical desires, but it was one thing to convince himself of that when alone in a cold dungeon or his decrepit home, it was quite another to do so when an attractive young woman was in his arms.

What he needed, he thought as he hurried down Diagon Alley, was a nice stiff drink; something to help him forget this godforsaken day and that bloody woman with her bizarre behavior. Why could no one just behave in the way that was expected of them?

As he finally reached his home and sat with a sigh onto a faded chair, a drink on the table and a book in his hand, his mind kept wandering to the earlier incident and the young woman involved. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair as his mind continually strayed from the words on the page and to the memory of her mouth and how her body had molded to fit his. After all, she might be a bushy haired know-it-all, but Merlin could she kiss!

* * *

Hermione wasted no time as soon as she left for the day to hurry down to Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Once she had got over the shock and embarrassment, she had begun to feel a fury toward Ron for selling her this stupid thing in the first place. She knew she was conveniently ignoring the fact that she had requested it.

Fred was just locking the doors when she arrived. She forced her way past him ignoring his cry of surprise.

"Ron Weasley!" she yelled storming her way to the back room.

"Hermione?" Ron asked, coming out of the office. "What's wrong?"

"This!" She shoved the now empty box into his hands. He stared at it, dumfounded. "Thirty minute daydream my arse! That thing lasted at least forty-five minutes and I'll have you know it was the cause of a very unfortunate incident with… with… someone."

"Well, see, we've been working on improving it," Ron said beginning to blush. "It's still not quite reliable, so we didn't want to advertise the longer time. But if you looked at the fine print, we've put a disclaimer in there about adverse reactions…"

"Well, that's not the only problem!" Hermione said, still furious. "It says nothing about actually interacting with people while having your daydream! I thought I would just sit and stare into space!"

"Well… see, there's something about that in the disclaimer as well. It is rare, but sometimes these things just affect certain people more."

"I don't give a bloody damn what the disclaimer says!" Hermione said her face red with fury and the memory of her humiliation.

"Merlin, Hermione," Ron stuttered and swallowed hard. "I don't think I've ever seen you so angry. What happened?"

"I… oh does it really matter, Ron? Let's just say that I was interrupted at a _very_ inopportune time."

Ron's eyes widened a bit and Hermione supposed he was imagining his own daydream and how one could be interrupted.

"I see," he said gravely. "Well, it wasn't one of the goblins was it? I mean, that's just sick."

"For heaven's sake, Ron," Hermione said rolling her eyes. "It was not a goblin."

"Well, that's a relief. So, how bad could it be then? I mean as long as he's human and it wasn't Snape or anything." As soon as the words were out of his mouth his eyes grew wide and his face turned red. "Hermione, today is Monday isn't it?"

Hermione just sighed and nodded her head. There was clearly no point in denying it now. Ron however, looked as if he was torn between being sick and laughing.

"Not a word of this to anyone. Do you understand me?" Hermione growled at him. "I mean, I wasn't in my right mind."

"What did he do? He didn't hex you or anything did he?" Ron asked. "If he did I swear I'll get him for it."

"He didn't do anything of the sort. Naturally he was upset about it, but we have agreed to put the incident behind us." Now that Hermione thought back on it, she was surprised at how well he had taken it. Granted he had been angry, and who could blame him, but he had calmed down fairly quickly and there had only been a minimum of threats. She sighed and looked at her watch. It was growing late and she was getting tired. All she wanted was the peace and solitude of her flat.

"Look Ron, I better get going. I just thought you should know that those charms have some unusual… uh… side-effects."

"I'll be sure to let Fred and George know. They like to document these things," Ron said without thinking. When he saw her look of fury he hastily added, "I won't tell them the specifics; just that you had an adverse reaction."

Hermione nodded and turned toward the door. Before she reached it he called out to her.

"Why don't you come by tomorrow night for dinner? Help me make it up to you?"

"Alright," Hermione said with a strangely mischievous smile on her face. "Besides, I know what I want from Luna for my birthday." She left and Ron as watched her retreating form, he wondering why her last comment was making him feel so nervous.


	4. Luna's Gift

Chapter 4- Luna's Gift

Hermione Apparated the next evening to Ron and Luna's house. They had built a house not too far from the Burrow in order to be close to both their families. It was small, but cozy and warm, if a bit strangely decorated.

She stepped out of the fireplace to see Luna smiling at her, looking up from the kitchen table, reviewing a copy of the _Quibbler_.

"Hi, Hermione," she said pulling her quill from behind her ear to make notes in the margins of the columns. She could just barely make out a headline that read, "_Albus Dumbledore reincarnated as goat, says brother." _She suppressed rolling her eyes. Although Luna might be a bit different, Hermione had come to appreciate her. After all, she had been in Ravenclaw for a reason. The young woman was brilliant and one of the few people who could keep up with Hermione when it came to quoting facts and figures.

"Ronald told me what happened with that Daydream Charm," she said looking up from the paper, a grin on her face. "Sounds like it was more of a gift than you expected!"

"It's not funny, Luna!" Hermione said sitting down at the table across from her. "I mean, it's Snape! You know, the greasy bat from the dungeons!"

"Well, you know, he does have that dark and dangerous look about him," Luna said, an evil smile on her face. "Of course, he was always nicer to the Ravenclaws. You were at a disadvantage being both a Gryffindor and one of Harry's best friends."

"Luna Weasley! Are you admitting to a crush on Snape?" Hermione said, choking back a laugh. Luna also laughed and shook her head.

"No, but I can see just about anything in anyone; even Snape." she said and Hermione had to admit that was true. Luna had long ago admitted that she had the capacity to believe in just about everything because once you closed your mind to certain possibilities; you began to lose the ability to learn. To Hermione it was flawed logic, but she could at least understand the sentiment behind it.

"So," she said breaking Hermione away from her thoughts, "You have to tell me, what _was_ it like?"

"Oh… well…" Hermione had a hard time thinking of the incident without blushing and she tried not to think of it. It was unnerving to think that the most exciting moment she had had with a man in years was with Snape. She wasn't sure she would ever be able to look him in the face again. Luckily, Ron's arrival spared her from having to answer.

"Hey Hermione," he said walking in the front door, his magenta work robes hanging around him. He kissed his wife and she smiled up at him. "Dinner smells good!"

"Of course, you would eat about anything," Luna said with a laugh.

Several minutes later they were all sitting around the table eating heaping bowls of beef stew with fresh homemade bread. The conversation was friendly as Ron told them of new products that Fred and George had been developing and Luna discussed some of the latest stories she was working on. Most of them were outlandish, but there were a few that Hermione was genuinely interested in. Finally, as they finished dessert, Hermione brought up the subject of her birthday.

"Well, Luna," she said as the last of the dishes flew of the table with a flick of Luna's wand, "I think perhaps I'm going to take you up on your offer after all."

Luna looked at her confused. "What offer?"

"Your offer of an expedition to search for a Crumple-Horned Snorkack," Hermione said hoping to keep her face straight. She determinedly did not look over to Ron who she knew would be staring at her with his mouth open.

"Really?" Luna said, looking almost as shocked as her husband, but pleased. "I never knew you were interested in rare magical creatures. I remember you didn't go for your N.E.W.T. in Care of Magical Creatures."

"Yes, well, perhaps I have been too quick to judge." Hermione hoped she sounded believable. Luna seemed to accept it but out of the corner of her eye, Hermione could see a skeptical look on Ron's face.

"Well, we should go this weekend!" Luna said unable to contain her excitement. "I've heard that there have been some sightings not all that far from Hogwarts. I'll pack the tent and we'll camp out!"

Hermione felt a surge of concern at the words "camp out" but put it out of her mind. After all, this would be wizard camping. She remembered what the tents were like at the Quidditch World Cup. Surely this would be similar. It would practically be like staying home.

"Alright," she said with a smile. The rest of the evening was spent primary with Luna chattering on about the upcoming weekend. She was clearly beside herself with excitement. When it came time for Hermione to leave, Ron walked her out. No sooner had they got through the front door, and Ron turned to her.

"What is going on?" he asked.

"Honestly, Ron I don't know why you keep asking me that," Hermione said as they walked away from the house.

"Hermione, I have known you most of my life. For Merlin's sake, we've saved each other's lives more times than I can count and we dated for three years. I think I know when you're acting strange and trust me, you're acting very strange. You know very well that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks don't exist. I love Luna, but I gave up ages ago trying to bring her down to earth on some things. So why are you doing this?"

Hermione sighed and turned back to her friend who was looking at her with concern in his eyes.

"I don't know," she said simply. "I know it looks like I've lost my mind. But a couple weeks ago, when we were all together for Ginny's birthday, I just couldn't help but think how boring my life was. Maybe it's because I'm turning thirty or maybe it's because now all my friends will be married and starting families and here I am still alone and living practically the same life I have been since we left Hogwarts. Anyway, I just thought maybe if I try something different; do things that I wouldn't normally do, then maybe life would be a bit more exciting."

Ron looked at her for a long moment and then pulled her into his arms giving her a long hug. She was taken aback for a moment before allowing herself to hug him back.

"I'm sorry," came his muffled voice. They pulled away and he looked at her. "I never thought that you would ever feel that way. I mean, you're always so in control and you've always had your life all planned out."

"Yes, I do give that impression, don't I?" Hermione said with a smile, tucking her hair behind her ears. "So, are you going to come with us this weekend?"

Ron laughed. "I suppose. Someone will have to keep you two in line."

"Oh yes, Ron. I'm sure us two helpless girls would be lost without a big strong man like you!" Hermione giggled and the two said good-bye before she Disapparated back to London.

* * *

Hermione had taken off work on Friday so that they could leave that day and be home by Sunday afternoon. She had agreed to Apparate to Ron and Luna's house and then they would all Apparate from there. When she arrived at their house, she saw Luna preparing all the essentials for camping out.

"Could you carry this?" she asked handing Hermione what appeared to be the tent. I've got the food and we can find firewood once we're there. And, let's see, Ronald is carrying the camara in case we get close enough for a good shot. And you've brought plenty of warm clothes, I hope? It gets cold in the evenings."

Hermione was beginning to feel more and more nervous. This was sounding a lot more like Muggle camping. But, in the spirit of doing something adventurous, she just followed the two along as they went outdoors, ready to Apparate.

"Hermione, why don't you hold on to me," Ron said as they got ready to leave. "You don't know where we're going and I'd hate for you to get lost."

Hermione held onto his sleeve and together they all Apparated. The next thing she saw was a large empty field with a forest on one side and a lake close by.

"We'll set up by the lake," Luna said and Hermione followed the other two as the trudged across the field. Once they reached the edge of the lake, Luna took the tent from Hermione and began setting it up. Hermione noticed that the use of magic was especially helpful and it was done in no time.

"Well, that's done. You want to check it out?" Luna asked Hermione and she nodded, curious to see what it would look like.

As she stepped inside the flap, she could barely suppress a groan of dismay. Although it must have been a magical tent, because there were already sleeping bags inside it, there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary. No bunk beds, no kitchen, nothing. Its dimensions were exactly as they should be and even a Muggle wouldn't have found anything strange about it. Hermione backed her way out and just smiled to Luna who went off in search of fire wood. As she walked away from the campsite, Hermione turned to Ron.

"You could have warned me," she hissed at him. He just smiled.

"You said you wanted a bit of excitement. I thought this would certainly be exciting for you."

Hermione gave him a look that reminded him distinctly of Snape at his most furious, but she said nothing. Most of the morning was spent preparing the campsite and finally, after a cold lunch of chicken, cheese and fruit, Luna declared that it was time to begin the search.

It was late evening and Hermione was freezing cold before she truly began to regret agreeing to do this. It was one thing to be uncomfortable when doing something of importance. It was quite another to do it when searching for something that did not exist. Luna appeared unfazed by the cold or the lack of sightings. She continued on, omnioculars in hand, pointing occasionally to a tuft of hair or broken branch, proclaiming that it was the work of a Snorkcack.

It was well past midnight when they finally returned to their campsite and collapsed into the sleeping bags. Hermione couldn't remember the last time she had been so cold and hungry, but she was sure that it had been a more pleasant experience than this.

They awoke the next morning and Luna announced that she thought they should circle around the lake, stating that often times Crumple-Horned Snorkacks would gather at such areas, drinking and bathing. Hermione and Ron agreed, thinking that this would at least be a nice way to spend the day, but once again, they were proven wrong. By mid-afternoon, the day had clouded over and rain was threatening. Hermione was once again chilled to the bone and no matter how many warming charms she used, her hands still felt like ice. Every step she took, she mentally cursed herself for having such a crazy idea. As humiliating as the Quidditch and Daydream Charms were, at least she hadn't been traipsing about the wilderness looking for imaginary animals. Hermione was just about to suggest that they turn back to the campsite when suddenly Luna let out a loud gasp as she peered through the omnioculars.

"Come here," she whispered, beckoning toward Hermione. She was perched precariously on a rock that jutted out into the lake and Hermione had to be careful trying to walk out to join her. When she finally reached her, Luna shoved the omnioculars toward her.

"Look! Over there!" she said pointing across to the other side of the lake.

Hermione suppressed a sigh of resignation and looked in the direction Luna was pointing at. What she saw she never would have believed. There, drinking from the lake were two of the strangest animals she had ever seen. They appeared to be of similar size and shape as a rhinoceros, but they were covered in thick brown hair and their horns… Hermione couldn't help but gasp. Their horns were crumpled like accordions and sticking out at strange angles. She turned around to see Luna had grabbed her camera and was taking pictures. She looked at Ron who was looking through a second pair of omnioculars, his mouth gaping open.

She had spun back around to look again when she heard a sudden cracking sound and suddenly it felt as if the earth had fallen away from her. All she could do was let out a small strangled shriek as the rock beneath her crumbled and she tumbled into the lake. The water was freezing cold and for several long moments she couldn't catch her breath as it felt that her lungs had just frozen. Luckily, the water was shallow that close to the shore and she was able to find her footing relatively quickly.

"Hermione," she heard Ron shout as he scrambled down to the shoreline, followed closely by Luna. Hermione dragged herself on shore, shivering from the cold but laughing. How many times had she privately ridiculed Luna for her belief in imaginary creatures only to discover they weren't imaginary at all?

"Are you alright?" Ron asked as they reached her. Hermione was shivering so hard she couldn't answer, but Luna performed a quick drying charm on her clothes, which helped greatly. She only wished it worked for her hair as well, which was still dripping.

"Luna," she said as she began to warm, "was that what I thought it was?"

Luna smiled proudly. "I knew there was a herd around here! I got a bunch of pictures! Dad will be so excited! I hope I'll be able to get an article ready in time for the next issue."

Hermione didn't think she had ever seen Luna so excited as they headed back toward their campsite. She was chattering at such a rate that even if Hermione had felt like talking, she wouldn't have been able to get a word in edgewise. As it was, though, she only wished she could warm up. She had insisted she was fine once Luna had calmed down, but in truth her whole body was beginning to ache both from the constant cold and the long hikes they had been on.

Because of their success, and Hermione's fall into the lake, they decided to head back that evening, rather then wait for the next day. Hermione had never been so relieved. All she wanted was a hot bath, a warm bed, and a long night's sleep.

By the next day, however, it was clear that something was wrong. Not only did she feel like she was getting sick, with her throat burning and her head aching, but she had developed a rash all over and was itching everywhere. By late afternoon she felt so miserable, that she gave up trying to have a normal day and went to bed.

She awoke the next morning not feeling any better and the rash had spread all the way up to her face and her hands and feet. It felt like every inch of her was crawling and nothing she did seemed to help. She floo-called to Gringott's and told them she wouldn't be in before crawling back into bed and falling asleep.

* * *

Severus Snape walked into Gringott's as usual later that day feeling unusually cheerful. That wasn't a word he generally applied to himself; in fact he wasn't sure he had ever used it, but something about the day just seemed a bit better than normal. It was a beautiful autumn day, the research he was doing on an experimental potion was going exceptionally well, and, he had to admit, he was rather looking forward to seeing Hermione.

He knew it was completely irrational of him; she surely was not looking forward to seeing him, but for some reason she had occupied a larger than normal portion of his thoughts the past couple weeks. At first he had told himself it was just because of her strange behavior. Then he told himself it was because of the kiss; after all, what man wouldn't think about that! But finally he had to admit that for a long time he had been looking forward to these trips to Gringotts. She was always pleasant to him and never seemed put off by his moods. It was the only time he felt like he could relax outside of his own home.

So, he was naturally dismayed when he reached Hermione's office. It was closed and locked and no amount of knocking brought the young woman to the door. In three years, he had never known her to take a day off and so it took him a moment before he went in search of someone to inquire on her whereabouts.

He found a goblin who appeared to be a manager, or something like it, and he stood, shocked, when he was informed that Hermione had called in sick. Sick! He wasn't aware she was even capable of illness. Surely someone so collected and organized would never allow their body to rebel against them in such a way. As he stood there, the goblin now walking away from him, he realized that he only had one option, or his day would be ruined. Feeling a bit discouraged, he left Gringott's and made his way to the Ministry.

* * *

Hermione was lying on her couch trying to keep her hands from scratching herself to death when she heard the knock at the door. She sat up and stared at it wondering who it could be. Perhaps it was Ron or Luna coming to make sure she was alright after the weekend. Or perhaps Ginny stopping by on her way home, she did that sometimes.

"Who is it?" she called throwing a robe on and running her fingers through her wild hair. There was a long pause and she thought perhaps they had gone away.

"Severus," said the voice from the other side of the door. Hermione's brain was suddenly frozen with panic. What was he doing here? How did he even find out where she lived? She mentally groaned when she imagined how she looked. She hadn't bathed since Saturday night, she hadn't even got dressed since then and her face was covered with a rash so horrible it was surely karma for what she had done to Marietta Edgecomb in her fifth year.

"What do you want?" she called through the door. Maybe she could get him to go away.

"I want you to open this door," came his reply. Damn.

"Uh… I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not feeling well and I wouldn't want to get you sick." Yes, that was it. She was doing this for his benefit.

"Hermione, if you don't open this door immediately I will just open it myself. You haven't even bothered to put any wards on it."

Hermione mumbled something rather profane under her breath and went over to unlock the door. As soon as she opened it, she saw his eyes widen with shock as he took in her appearance.

"Well," he said thoughtfully, "clearly you weren't lying."

"Clearly," she snapped and stalked back into her living room, picking up a tissue to blow her nose. He followed.

"Tell me, have you been swimming in any lakes lately?" he asked with what almost sounded like amusement. Hermione turned around and stared at him.

"Well, not exactly swimming but yes. Why?"

"Gnitsweed poisoning," he said with a triumphant glint in his eyes.

"What is that?" Hermione's mind was quickly going through her mental stores of information but for some reason came up empty on the topic of Gnitsweed.

"It's a rare plant found in freshwater lakes," Severus said. "You probably have never heard of it because it becomes completely useless when cut and therefore has never been used in any Potions. However, when a person comes into contact with it, it can cause a red rash that quickly spreads over the entire body. And I daresay that your cold is because you were foolish enough to go swimming in the middle of September."

"Yes, well thank you Healer Snape," Hermione said with as much sarcasm as she could muster. It did not seem to bother him; on the contrary he seemed amused by it. "Incidentally, how did you manage to find me?"

At this Severus shifted uncomfortably and turned away from her. She thought his pale skin looked a bit pink as if he was blushing. Surely not!

"As it happens, Mister Potter owes me a favor for…" he cleared his throat, "for some help I gave him during the Final Battle. I was a bit concerned when you did not show up for my appointment so I requested your address from him."

Hermione could feel her eyes widening with surprise. "You… you called in his life debt to you? For my address?"

"Well… it wasn't an official life debt," Severus said quickly. "And he told me that if I upset you that he would make sure I spent the rest of my natural life becoming intimate with the dementors at Azkaban."

Hermione had to choke down a laugh, but a particularly painful itch in the middle of her back made her forget her amusement as she squirmed to reach it. Severus noticed and seemed to remember why he was there.

"Are you connected to the floo network?" he asked suddenly and Hermione nodded.

"If you would permit me to retrieve some things from my home, I believe I have something that would help with that."

Hermione again nodded and he made his way to her fireplace. As soon as he was gone she sat down on the couch and thought about how odd this all was. Why was Severus so concerned about her that he was calling in favors from Harry? He surely couldn't be that concerned for her well being could he? She felt a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach at the thought, which she didn't want to put too much thought into.

Severus had only been gone a few minutes when she heard him return back through the fireplace, this time with what appeared to be several potions.

"Pepperup," he said handing the smoking vial to her. She drank it dutifully and waited for her ears to stop smoking. He then handed her a tub of something gray that smelled salty.

"It should help with the rash," he said as she dipped her finger into the gel-like substance. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Thank you," she said and he appeared faintly embarrassed by her gratitude.

"Well, just see that you don't miss any more of my appointments," he said gruffly. "How else am I supposed to get my money?"

"Well," Hermione said thoughtfully, "I suppose someone else could have helped you."

He could tell she was teasing him and it was a strange sensation. He didn't know of anyone else who had the nerve to do so. His lips turned up into a faint smile.

"Yes, well, I would rather deal with you. Everyone else would either stare at me once they found out who I was, or they would try to make small talk." He spoke in a disgusted tone of voice.

"Oh, well I suppose I should be flattered." There was a long uncomfortable pause as Hermione tried to think of something to say. "Would you care for a cup of tea?" she finally asked unsure of what else to do. Severus shook his head.

"I do not care for tea," he said shortly before realizing that he was probably being inconsiderate so he quickly added, "but I wouldn't mind a glass of water. Floo travel always makes me thirsty."

"Alright," Hermione said and went into the kitchen to get it for him. When she returned she saw he was sitting in an armchair looking quite out of place.

"So," he said as he accepted the glass from her and took a drink, "what exactly were you doing in a lake in the middle of September? You have already said you were not going for a swim."

Hermione sighed and sat down on the couch. "It's a long story, much of it you wouldn't believe, but let's just say I was camping with Ron and Luna."

Severus nearly choked on the sip of water he was taking. "Well, considering your company, I'm sure there is a bit more to it than that."

"Yes, there is, but as I said you wouldn't believe me. I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't been there."

Severus smiled again and Hermione was struck by how much younger he looked when he did. "That seems to be a common occurrence where Mrs. Weasley is concerned. She seems to have the ability to make the unbelievable believable."

Hermione wondered when he could have had that much interaction with Luna outside of the classroom, but didn't ask. She didn't want to share her own experience and she figured he probably wasn't that anxious to share his either. They talked for a while longer, making the small talk that Severus seemed to despise so much, until Hermione's constant itching finally made him rise.

"You appear to be very uncomfortable and I think I have taken up enough of your time," he said setting his glass on the coffee table and rising. Hermione joined him and followed him to the door.

"I appreciate your help," Hermione said as they reached the front door. Severus looked down at her and, as her eyes met his, for one long moment she could think of nothing but the kiss they had shared the week before. From the look in his eyes it seemed he was thinking of the same thing and Hermione was surprised that she had a sudden desire to repeat the experience. Severus, however, broke his eyes away and opened the door, however paused before leaving.

"I will see you next Monday, then," he said and she nodded, suddenly unable to speak. "Have a good evening, Hermione," he said as he left.

"Good-bye, Severus," she said and sighed as she shut the door.


	5. Ginny's Gift

_A/N: Thank you so much for everyone's kind reviews! They make my day!_

* * *

Chapter 5- Ginny's Gift

By the next morning, although the rash had not gone away completely, Hermione was feeling much better and decided to return to work. She had been in her office less than an hour, though, when Harry showed up.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as he sat in the chair across from her.

"Well, I received an interesting visitor at work yesterday," Harry said looking at her expectantly. "Why was Snape so concerned about you that he had to bully me into giving him your address?"

As embarrassing as it was, Hermione couldn't help but feel touched at Severus' behavior. She had never seen him show concern to another person before and she couldn't fathom why he was bestowing the honor on her.

"Oh, he was just upset that I wasn't at work for his appointment," Hermione said hoping Harry would blow it off. He looked at her skeptically.

"Hermione, if it was anybody other than Snape, I would have thought he was worried about you."

"Well… would it be that outrageous if he was worried about me?" she huffed.

"Yes!" Harry said laughing. "This is Snape we're talking about. He doesn't care about anyone."

"Honestly, Harry, you know that's not true. If he didn't care about anyone, he never would have helped you destroy all those Horcruxes."

"I didn't say he was evil!" Harry said sounded defensive. "I just don't understand why he's so worried about you!"

"Well, yes. I'm sure it is shocking that someone worries about me," Hermione snapped. "Is there any other reason you're here, Harry? Or were you just planning on insulting me?"

"Bloody hell, Hermione! I'm not trying to insult you! Why are you defending Snape so much? What is going on with you two?"

"Ugh! Nothing!" Hermione nearly yelled.

"Hey! What's going on in here?" she heard Ginny's voice from the doorway. "Merlin, Harry, I'm a few minutes late and here you are picking a fight with Hermione."

Ginny walked into the room, her hands on her hips and a glare fixed on her fiancé. Harry seemed to cringe under the weight of her stare.

"I'm not picking a fight, Ginny," he said. "I just thought the whole thing with Snape was weird."

"Harry, I told you yesterday, if Hermione wants to have a relationship with Snape, that's her business."

"I am NOT having a relationship with Severus!" Hermione growled but as soon as she spoke they both turned to look at her.

"Severus?" Harry asked, his voice rising in shock. "Since when do you call him by his first name?"

"Fine!" Hermione said throwing up her hands. "You think I'm so crazy for Severus? I'll prove you wrong! Ginny, I know what I want for my birthday!"

"Uh… okay…" Ginny said clearly unsure of how to respond. "What's that?"

"A date!" Hermione said triumphantly.

"Um… Hermione? That's real flattering and all but…"

"Oh honestly, Ginny! I don't mean you! I want you to set me up on a blind date! You always seem to have plenty of single friends."

"Oh!" Ginny said sounding relieved. "Well, alright…"

"Good," Hermione said, sounding as if she had just set up a business meeting. "You will let me know the date and time."

Harry and Ginny exchanged looks of surprise.

"Well, okay, Hermione," Ginny said, clearly confused by her friends behavior and Harry also rose from his chair. "I'll floo-call you later this week."

Hermione agreed and turned away as her friends walked out the door, wishing she could hide her burning face. How had she let Harry get the better of her on this? Although it had been part of her original plan to have Ginny set her up, she had since changed her mind. She didn't want a blind date at all. She wanted… The thought that popped into her head was too shocking for her to even think about and she quickly went back to work.

* * *

Ginny told Hermione that she was to meet her date at the Leaky Cauldron the following Monday evening. Although Hermione thought this was a strange day of the week for a date, Ginny assured her this was the only day this person could meet. As the week passed, Hermione began to regret this request more and more. She didn't want to go through with this.

Monday finally came and with it came a sense of dread. Hermione, determined to at least look the part, took extra care when dressing that morning and tried to tame her unruly hair. The day passed with agonizing slowness and it seemed it would never end. She was so concerned about the date, that she nearly forgot that Severus would be coming for his weekly appointment. As soon as he appeared at the entrance to her office she felt a sudden surge of guilt, which she could not understand, and she found she had trouble looking at him.

"Come in," she said looking down at the parchment in front of her. He entered and sat at the chair across from her without saying a word. It was several minutes before Hermione managed to clear her head get his paperwork straight. "Are you making your usual withdrawal?"

"Is something wrong, Hermione?" he asked and she looked up at him.

"No! Why do you ask?"

"You seem to be behaving a bit strangely today," he said. "You seem… distracted."

"Well, according to everyone, I've been acting strange for a while now," Hermione said sighing and rubbing her head that had begun to ache. "I just have a lot on my mind.

"Well at least you appear to be feeling better than you were a week ago," Severus said with a smirk. "And it appears that you actually bathed today, which is also an improvement over last week."

Hermione gave a dry laugh, unable to feel any real embarrassment and when she smiled at him it was genuine. "Thank you for your help with that. I seem to be doing nothing but getting myself into messes lately."

Severus said nothing but his eyebrow arched as he signed his parchment and Hermione handed him his Galleons.

"I will see you next week, Severus," she said.

"Have a good evening, Hermione," he said and he left.

Hermione quickly tidied up her office and once again found herself making her way down Diagon Alley to the Leaky Cauldron. She stepped into the dim light of the bar with enough caution that it looked as if she were expecting a Death Eater attack more than a date. Ginny had told her he would be sitting at the table in the corner that they usually sat at and so Hermione's eyes immediately went there first. She could see someone sitting there, but their head was turned and the light was too dim to make out who it was. All she could see was dark hair and a dark cloak. She sighed with frustration and walked over to the table.

At the sound of her footsteps, the person at the table turned and Hermione was able to get a good look at them for the first time. Hermione stopped in her tracks unsure if bursting into nervous laughter was appropriate at such a time.

"Hello Neville," she said as he rose from his chair.

"Um… hello Hermione," he said equally nervous. His lack of surprise, however, suggested that Ginny had already told him who he would be meeting. She wasn't sure if this made her feel better or worse. "I haven't seen you in a while."

Hermione felt this was a gross understatement. She probably hadn't spoken to Neville Longbottom in more than five years. He looked older and more mature than she remembered him, but she supposed she did as well. Aging had a way of doing that to a person. Still, though, he looked as sweet and friendly with a round face and kind smile as he always had.

"So what have you been up to?" Hermione asked as she sat, after Neville had ordered her a butterbeer.

"Well, I'm a Healer at St. Mungo's," Neville said proudly. "And I have a greenhouse that I work in during my spare time."

"Oh… that's right. I had heard you were a Healer," Hermione said and mentally she thought that this must be why Ginny had picked him for this date. Ginny had told her before that they worked together.

"So what about you?" Neville asked. "I always thought you'd be Minister of Magic by now."

"Oh…" Hermione suddenly felt embarrassed. Everyone seemed to have such important and worthwhile jobs. "I… um… I work in the War Reimbursement Department of Gringotts."

"Oh…" Neville appeared to be at a loss of what to say and an uncomfortable silence descended on them. Hermione desperately tried to think of something to say.

"So… you said you have a greenhouse?" she finally asked cringing to herself. The last thing she wanted to do was have a conversation about magical plants, but she could think of nothing else. "That must be really great for you."

"Oh yeah!" Neville's face lit up like a _lumos_ spell had just been performed on it and he began to launch into an in depth description of the plants he was growing.

Hermione estimated that her concentration had wandered ten minutes into the conversation and by twenty minutes her eyes had glazed over. Not since Professor Binns' lectured during History of Magic had she had this much trouble paying attention. Neville did not seem to notice, though, as he continued on in his one sided conversation. Her mind's wandering, however, was interrupted by Tom calling over to them.

"Hey! Longbottom! You have a floo-call!"

"Oh!" Neville said as Hermione sat up a bit straighter in her chair. "I wonder who that is. I better go check."

Hermione watched him walk over to the fireplace where she could see someone's head in the flames. Neville only spoke to them for a moment before they disappeared and he returned to the table with an odd expression on his face. To Hermione it looked like forced disappointment.

"That was another Healer at St. Mungo's," he said reaching over and grabbing his cloak. "I'm sorry but there's an emergency that's come up so I'm going to have to go."

"Oh… well, that's too bad," Hermione said hoping she sounded genuine. "Well… maybe some other time…"

Neville stopped halfway through putting on his cloak and looked down at her with… was that pity on his face?

"Honestly, Hermione, I don't think this was such a good idea," he said in a tone that matched the look he was giving her. "I don't think we would have much in common."

Hermione could feel her face flush with embarrassment. She was being blown off by _Neville Longbottom?_ Really, could this get any worse? Apparently it could because he continued talking.

"I mean, I'm sure some guy would be happy to date you, but I think I'm looking for someone a little… more like me. I'm sorry." Neville leaned down and gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek.

As he walked out the door, Hermione felt a numb sort of shock. She wasn't sure she had ever been more humiliated or insulted in her life. She sat in her chair and cursed to herself as she felt hot tears on her cheeks. She swiped at them fiercely, furious with herself for actually crying! Over Neville! But the thought of it just made the tears come quicker and she was losing the battle of brushing them off her face. She had just reached for a handkerchief so she could do the job properly when she heard a voice behind her.

"Hermione? What's wrong?"

Hermione quickly wiped her eyes and nose and smoothed down her hair before turning around, plastering a fake smile on her face.

"Severus! I figured you'd be long gone from Diagon Alley by now," she said as friendly as she could manage. She could tell from the look he was giving her that she wasn't being very successful at it. He walked over to her until he was towering over her, a frown creasing his face.

"I had some errands that required some time. What's happened?" he asked.

"Oh nothing," she said with a dry laugh and motioned to the chair. "You may as well sit if you want. The seat isn't occupied."

He did sit and stared across the table at her. He looked at her for so long and so intently that if Hermione didn't know better, she would think he was using Legilimency on her. Finally he leaned back in the chair, a knowing look on his face.

"Let me guess. Something to do with your birthday?"

Hermione snorted. Maybe he was using Legilimency after all. "How did you guess?"

"Well, considering that your birthday appears to have been the cause of quite a bit of emotional and physical upheaval in your life lately, I figured it the most likely culprit. So may I ask what has happened this time? Please tell me it isn't so outrageous that you've landed yourself in Azkaban."

"No," Hermione said with a small smile. "Nothing so outrageous as that."

Severus arched an eyebrow at her as if to tell her to continue.

"If you must know, I was on a date," Hermione said in a huff. She noticed that his jaw seemed to clinch momentarily and she felt her heart skip a beat. Could it be possible that he cared if she dated someone? "A blind date, set up by Ginny at my request. It didn't go well."

"May I ask who this date was with?" Severus asked, his voice and his eyes a bit colder than they had been.

"Nle Lbtm…" Hermione mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Severus asked. "Who?"

"Neville Longbottom," Hermione finally said and she watched as the corners of Severus' mouth twitched.

"Don't laugh!" she said heatedly. "Do you know how humiliating it is to not only be set up with him, but to be told that he didn't want to see me again? He actually _felt sorry_ for me!" Hermione could feel her eyes well with tears again and the amusement that had been present in Severus' eyes disappeared. He moved his chair closer to her and took her hand in his. Hermione was surprised how warm his skin felt; so in contrast to the person most people thought he was.

"Hermione, don't tell me you have feelings for him," he said quietly.

"Merlin no!" Hermione said, nearly choking in shock. "No… It's not that I wanted to see him again. But honestly, what has my life become? I work in a dingy office in a bank and I don't do anything that I ever dreamed of and I'm now an object of pity for people that I had to help tutor all the way through school. Here I am, a day away from my thirtieth birthday and I'm all alone and I hate my job and I'm miserable."

"So that is what this has all been about?" Severus asked as his mind began to put all the pieces together. "You have been doing all this because you're unhappy with your life?"

"Yeah, I guess I have," Hermione said, reluctantly removing one of her hands from his to finish her now lukewarm butterbeer. "Pretty pathetic huh?"

Severus felt the overwhelming urge to shake her. How could this brilliant witch think so little of herself? How could she be so unaware of how important she was to so many people? Of how important she was to him?

This thought made him pause. Where had that come from? When did seeing Hermione for fifteen minutes on Mondays, go from being a somewhat pleasant interaction with another human being to being the most important part of his week? Somewhere along the line this woman had become far more important to him than he liked to admit. He looked down at her tear streaked face and felt a surge of emotion unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

"No, Hermione," Severus said wiping a stray tear off her face. "You are anything but pathetic and you should never be the object of anyone's pity. Certainly not Neville bloody Longbottom. You have so much to be proud of. You helped defeat a terrible dark wizard and you fought with enough bravery to merit an Order of Merlin."

Hermione wanted to roll her eyes but the moment the look of skepticism crossed her face Severus cut her off.

"Don't underestimate what you've done with your life, Hermione. Most of our world has forgotten, but I, for one, have not." Somehow Severus had ended up with his hands cupping her face and his dark eyes boring into hers and Hermione felt the breath leave her body. "And if that isn't enough for you, you can rest assured that even if Longbottom does not appreciate your company, I do."

"Oh…" Hermione whispered and her eyes drifted towards his lips, which were now only inches away from hers and all she could think of was how to close the distance between them.

Severus saw her eyes drop and he smirked as he lowered his mouth toward hers.

"Longbottom is an idiot," he murmured and then his lips were on hers, softly, gently while his thumb stroked her cheek. Hermione reached up to run her hands through the hair at the nape of his neck and he wrapped his other arm around her pulling her closer to him as he coaxed her mouth open, sliding his tongue against hers. He could feel her shudder against him and he slid his hand to the back of her neck, tightening his hold on her.

It was several minutes before they finally broke apart as they both seemed to become aware of their surroundings at the same time. Severus looked down at Hermione who was smiling shyly up at him, her lips were swollen from the kisses and her hair was rumpled from where he had run his hand threw it. He suddenly found it difficult to breathe and he wondered if it were actually possible to be bewitched, because these feelings coursing through him could not possibly be normal.

"Would you care to join me for dinner?" he asked suddenly with a hoarse voice. He wondered where that had come from. He had not planned to ask her out. Mentally he prepared to hear her excuses but when he looked at Hermione, her smile was bright and his breath left him once again. Really, she was going to have to stop looking at him or he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen.

"That would be lovely," she said, sounding a bit breathless herself.

Severus scooted his chair back and reached for her cloak, helping her to fasten it while never taking his eyes off her face. He led her out of the bar and Hermione realized that it had grown dark since she had first gone in and the air had grown cold. Instinctively she moved closer to him, tucking her hand under his arm and absorbing his body heat as they walked.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they crossed the street and moved into Muggle London.

"It's a Muggle establishment that I frequent," Severus said. "I have found that anonymity can be enjoyable and when I'm around Muggles I can at least count on no one knowing me."

"Won't we look a bit odd?" Hermione asked glancing down at her robes and cloak.

"No odder than I do by myself. So far no one has commented on my clothing."

They walked in silence for a while, enjoying the cool air and each lost in their own thoughts. It was Severus who broke the silence first.

"May I ask you a question?" he asked as they walked down a narrow side street. Hermione glanced up at him speculatively.

"I suppose."

"Why _did_ you start working at Gringotts?"

Had it been anyone other than Severus asking, Hermione supposed she would have been offended. But considering everything she had said earlier, it was a valid question to ask. She sighed and took a moment to answer.

"After the War, everything was in such a mess. Not just our world in general, but my life. Harry was recovering; many of my friends were dead. We had spent years preparing for that moment and then it was all over, just as fast as you can say _Avada Kedavra_. It was hard for me to know what to do with myself. I knew I could have my pick of jobs; just like Harry and Ron. But it was harder for me to know what that would be. Harry always wanted to be an Auror, so for him it wasn't a problem. Ron used to say he wanted to be one too, but I think the horrors of war woke him up to the reality of it and he lost his taste for catching dark wizards. So he chose to go into the family business. But I didn't know what to do with myself. I was so disillusioned with the Ministry after their treatment of Harry, but there really aren't a lot of jobs out there. I worked for a while at Flourish and Blotts, but as much as I love reading books, selling them is a bit different. So when they asked me to be in charge of the War Reimbursement Department, I though that would be for the best. Even though I wasn't doing anything important, at least I could be helping out people who had."

"And now?" Severus asked. "What has changed?"

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Nothing maybe… maybe everything. I feel like I'm stuck. Nothing in my life has really changed in the past ten years and I see my friends around me moving on; with their careers, with marriage and I'm still Hermione Granger, former Head Girl, former war hero and currently not much of anything. "

She paused and she could feel Severus' eyes on her but she didn't look at him. She suddenly felt like she had said too much, exposed herself in a way she hadn't intended. But she felt comforted when he took a hold of her hand and gently squeezed her fingers. After a moment they suddenly came to a halt and she finally gathered the courage to look at him.

"We're here," Severus said stopping outside the small building. He led her inside the small dimly lit restaurant. No sooner had the door closed behind them, and the maitre d' had hurried across the room toward them.

"Mister Snape!" he said with a broad smile. "How nice to see you! Your usual table?"

Hermione looked up at Severus, an eyebrow raised in surprise. Severus, however ignored her and curtly nodded to the other man who led them to a secluded table in the far corner of the room.

"Anonymity Mister Snape?" Hermione asked once they were settled in their chairs. "It appears that you are anything but anonymous."

"Well… I suppose I used a very broad definition of the word," Severus said smirking. "I will concede that they do know my name, however I at least have the luxury of not having to hear the words 'Death Eater' being whispered behind my back. Besides, their wine list is impeccable."

Hermione grinned at him and returned to studying the menu.

The evening ended up being more enjoyable than Hermione could have imagined. After she had spilled all her feelings and frustration regarding her own life, she was surprised when Severus had discussed everything he had been doing since the end of the war. He told her that he was currently contracted by the Ministry to develop a potion antidote to the Imperius Curse and she was even more surprised to discover that he and Remus Lupin had just recently patented an improved Wolfsbane Potion that was set to hit the market within the next few months.

Over dessert, the topic turned back to Hermione and she talked about how much she missed some of the subjects she had learned about at Hogwarts and the joy they had brought her.

"I had always envisioned myself going into Arithmancy or something like that," she said as she took a sip of wine. "Something where I would be able to spend my time learning and discovering things; not just filling out forms and counting Galleons." She smiled and looked at Severus who appeared to be listening intently. "But, this month has taught me one very important thing."

"What was that?" Severus asked.

"I definitely could not play Quidditch professionally."

Severus laughed, not loudly or for long, but it was the first time Hermione had ever heard him laugh outright and she chuckled with him. As they left the restaurant, Hermione once again tucked her hand under his arm, reluctant to let the evening end. Severus also seemed to be hesitant to say good-night as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Can I Apparate you to your flat?" Severus asked, a little nervously. Hermione smiled. She had never seen this strangely unsure Severus.

"Actually, I usually go the Muggle way," she said motioning toward the nearby steps leading under the city street. "Would you like to join me?"

Severus looked at her, alarmed and she laughed. "Hermione, do you mean to tell me that you get on one of those… things? And you say you don't like flying."

"Yes, well, I live in a Muggle neighborhood and it's easier than worrying about someone seeing me Apparate all the time. Besides, sometimes it's nice to experience the magic of the Muggle world."

Severus looked at her confused for a moment, but then he seemed to understand what she meant and nodded. "Very well. I will not be joining you, however, unless you're interested in seeing me turn green."

"Alright," Hermione said with a sigh. "Perhaps someday." She felt her own heart leap as she saw the hope in his eyes at her mention of future interaction. She reached up on her tip toes and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"I had a very nice time tonight," she said softly.

"As did I," Severus said before leaning in for another kiss. "Have a good evening Hermione."

"Good-night," she whispered and she turned to head down the steps. She looked back just before Severus disappeared from view and saw him still standing there, a smile on his face.


	6. Severus' Gift

_A/N: So here it is, the last chapter. I hope you all have enjoyed it! I do need to thank SShappiness who asked in a review if Severus' Gift would be the title of this chapter. Crazy enough, it wasn't and as soon as she asked I realized my mistake. So I have her to thank for the title._

* * *

Chapter 6- Severus' Gift

The next day Hermione woke in an absurdly good mood. Twice she caught herself humming as she got ready for work and she tried unsuccessfully to wipe the silly grin off her face. All in all she decided that turning thirty was not nearly as bad as she was expecting it to be. The day passed with the same slowness that it always did, but Hermione tried not to be bothered by it. She was meeting her friends after work that day and she kept hoping that perhaps Severus would stop in or a least owl her. Surely he had enjoyed their evening together as much as she had.

Finally when five o'clock came Hermione hurried out of her office, practically skipping down the steps of Gringotts. She was still grinning when she reached her friends' usual table at the Leaky Cauldron. Once again she was the last one there and her grin grew even larger as she thought of the night before and how Severus had kissed her right at that table.

"What's that smile for?" Ron asked suspiciously. "I haven't seen you that happy in ages."

"Oh… nothing," Hermione said trying to look serious. "It's my birthday. Shouldn't I be happy?"

"I suppose…" Ron said but he still didn't look convinced.

"Hmm…" Ginny said, a smirk on her face. "How was that blind date last night?"

Hermione nearly choked on her laughter. "Terrible. Honestly Ginny, you couldn't think of anyone but Neville?"

"Neville Longbottom?" Ron nearly shouted. "You set her up with Neville? Really Ginny, you couldn't do better than that?"

"Well it's not like I had a lot of notice," Ginny said defensively. "Besides, he's nice, single and rich. She could do worse. So, if it went so bad, then why are you in such a good mood?"

"Well…" Hermione debated whether or not to tell her friends the truth, but she figured they were going to find out eventually. "After Neville left, I ran into someone else and we went to dinner and had a very nice time."

"Oh really?" Luna asked. "Who?"

"Um… Snape."

There was complete silence at the table for about five seconds before Harry and Ron both began shouting.

"Snape?" Ron asked nearly coming out of his chair. "You went out with Snape?"

Meanwhile Harry was shouting, "Hermione, have you lost your mind?"

Hermione just looked at the two women at the table. Ginny had a knowing gleam in her eyes that said 'I knew it' and Luna leaned over and whispered, "I want details."

Both Harry and Ron stopped mid tirade as the three women broke into wicked laughter. They exchanged looks of confusion and frustration before sitting back in their chairs. Hermione was sure she heard Ron mutter something about 'crazy women'.

Unfortunately for Ginny and Luna, Hermione was unable to give them the details they were wanting since both Harry and Ron had made retching noises the moment she began talking. So the three women made plans to meet later in the week so that Hermione could give a blow-by-blow account of the entire evening. Gradually the conversation turned to other, less controversial topics of conversation, such as Harry and Ginny's wedding. Hermione kept thinking that perhaps Severus would somehow show up, just as he had the day before, but as the evening wore on, she began to lose hope.

Finally the group all left and Hermione couldn't help but feel a little let down. She supposed it was silly of her to think that Severus would show up at some point during the day; he was probably busy with his work. She decided to floo to her flat; it had started raining and she really just wanted to change into some comfortable pajamas and curl up under a blanket with a pint of ice cream.

She did exactly that and was in the middle of a new book and halfway through the carton of rocky road when she heard a knock on her door. She could feel her heart pounding as she hurried to the door, throwing a bathrobe around herself in an effort to look presentable.

She threw open the door and looked at Severus in shock. Although she would never say it to his face, the only words that came to mind as she looked at him were "drowned rat". He was completely soaked, his dark hair plastered to his face and his cloak was dripping in a steady stream on the floor.

"I thought you always came home the Muggle way," he growled through his chattering teeth. Hermione had to fight to keep from laughing and pulled him into the entranceway. She went into the living room and grabbed her wand before coming back and performing a Drying Charm on him.

"How long were you standing out there?" she asked as she led him into the living room.

"Too bloody long," he said, still sounding disgruntled. "Where have you been?"

"With friends. I floo'd from the Leaky Cauldron. Honestly, Severus, what were you doing waiting like that?"

Now that he was dry, Severus began to feel embarrassed. What had possessed him to stand outside in the rain waiting for a woman like some love-sick fool? She stood in front of him, waiting for his answer. He cleared his throat nervously before reaching into his pocket and pulling out an envelope.

"I came to bring you your birthday present," he said gruffly. Hermione looked at him in surprise and took the damp envelope from him. She broke the seal and pulled out the parchment, unfolded it and scanned the contents. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with questions.

"What is this?" she asked. "How did you…"

"Well… you don't have to take it if you don't want to, but last night you mentioned your interest in Arithmancy and I happen to have some contacts in that field. I took the liberty of seeing if any of them were interested in taking on an apprentice." He paused but Hermione said nothing and he felt the need to continue talking. "It wasn't difficult. As soon as they heard your Arithmancy marks on the N.E.W.T.s several of them were thrilled at the prospect, but Madam Fletcher is considered the top Arithmancer in Britain and I assumed you would prefer working with the best."

There was another long pause and for one terrible moment Severus thought that perhaps she was angry at him. Perhaps he had overstepped the boundaries of this new friendship and he had offended her.

"If you don't want it, of course you can just throw it away and forget…"

Severus was unable to continue speaking as Hermione had just thrown herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

"Thank-you," she said in a muffled voice. She pulled away to look up at him and Severus was shocked to see tears in her eyes. "You have no idea what this means to me."

."Happy birthday Hermione," he said as he felt his nervousness lessen. She wiped the tears from her eyes and reluctantly stepped back, away from the comfort of his arms.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked heading into the kitchen. "I know you don't drink tea but you must still be cold. Would you like some coffee or something?"

"Coffee would be fine," Severus said joining her in the kitchen. It was only then that he really took in her appearance. "Tell me, Hermione, are you never dressed in regular clothing when you're at home?"

Hermione blushed, but when she looked up at him, he didn't seem to mind in the least. In fact, the look on his face caused her to blush even more. She handed him a cup of steaming hot black coffee and he sipped it, grateful for the warmth. They moved back into the living room and as he sat on the sofa, Hermione joined him, sitting next to him. She pulled out the parchment that he had given her and stared at it again, a small smile on her face.

"I was worried you would think I was overstepping my bounds," Severus said as he watched her reread the words.

"No. I would never be angry at someone trying to help me out," Hermione said as she refolded the parchment and laid it on the coffee table. "Why did you, though?"

Severus stared into his coffee mug. "I suppose because I know what it's like to unhappy in one's profession. I never cared much for teaching; I suppose that is obvious. Albus made me stay for my own protection."

It was the first time he had mentioned the former Headmaster and Hermione couldn't help but be intrigued by their relationship. Severus seemed to sense her interest, and continued speaking.

"Albus was never exactly a friend to me. I can't say I have ever had any friends. I doubt I would even know how to go about it. But he kept me alive when it would have otherwise been impossible."

"Perhaps…" Hermione started speaking but then was unsure if she should continue. "Perhaps you just hadn't found the right person to be friends with."

Severus looked up at her and gave a small nod. "Perhaps you are right."

They sat in silence for several more minutes before Severus noticed the half empty carton of ice cream sitting on the coffee table.

"Ice cream?" he asked looking over at her. "Is that not the typical food of choice during what I believe is called a 'pity party'?"

"It can be," Hermione said, feeling silly.

"And tell me, why on earth were you feeling sorry for yourself? Especially on your birthday of all days?"

"Well… I kept expecting you to show up all day. It's silly I know. But after last night I thought maybe… I had hoped… " Her voice trailed off and she sat staring very hard at her hands sitting in her lap. Severus said nothing and she finally got up the nerve to look at him. He was staring at her intensely.

"You were upset because you thought I had forgotten your birthday?" he asked with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

She found she couldn't quite speak but she nodded her head and looked away. Severus moved closer to her and turned her head so she was forced to look at him.

"Merlin knows I don't deserve it, but I am honored that you think so highly of me."

He pressed a kiss to her lips and she wrapped her arms around him. As she pulled him down on top of her, he lost himself in the feel of her lips on his and her body against him and neither of them had any desire to talk any more.

* * *

It was early the next morning when Hermione awoke, the gray light of early morning just beginning to come through the windows. She reached over to the other side of the bed, but she felt nothing but cold sheets and the imprint where another person had lain. She propped herself up on her elbows, drawing the sheet around her and squinting in the dark.

"Severus?" she whispered and she heard rustling on the other side of the room. She sat up more and looked in the direction of the noise. "Severus? What are you doing?"

She saw him move back toward the bed, wearing only a pair of black trousers. She saw he had a piece of parchment in his hand, but before she could get a good look at it he leaned down and gave her a kiss.

"Good morning," he said as she leaned back against the pillows. He watched her for a few moments and Hermione got the feeling he wanted to ask her something.

"What?" she asked and he lifted his hand holding the parchment.

"I was going to leave you a note on your desk, but I came across this," he said, arching an eyebrow. Hermione didn't even have to look at it to know what it was. Her list. Still, she took it and looked down at it. The first three lines had notes next to them that she had written as she had completed each one.

_Ways to make life more magical_

_Do something death defying_

_-Next time I want to fly, I must remember to use both hands_

_Take some time to dream_

_-Perhaps this should not be done while at work_

_Believe in the unbelievable_

_-Who knew that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks were real?_

Only the fourth line remained untouched as it had been when she had written it the month before. She cringed as she looked at it now.

_4. Fall in love_

Hermione's face burned with embarrassment and she couldn't bring herself to look at him. He was surely going to be furious and think that she was just using him as a way of finishing the list. But instead of yelling or storming out of the room, Severus sat down on the bed. It creaked slightly from his weight and Hermione slowly raised her eyes to him. He was still studying her.

"Severus, I…" Hermione broke off, unsure of what to say. But Severus did not speak and seemed to be waiting for her to finish. "I hope you don't think that this list has anything to do with… us."

"Actually, I must admit I was rather relieved to see this."

"You were?" Hermione asked, looking at him in shock. Severus gave a dry laugh.

"Well, at least I am quite sure now that you weren't losing your mind. Although you attempts to make life more exciting seemed to have backfired, you at least had a plan for it, which is very much like the woman I have always thought you to be."

Hermione was speechless at this. Of all the reactions she would have expected, relief was not among them. Severus leaned in closer, brushing a strand of her hair out of her eyes.

"Besides, it makes me feel a bit better about your date with Longbottom."

Hermione laughed. "I already told Ginny she was in trouble for that. I don't think her heart was in it though."

"Oh really?" Severus asked. "And why was that?"

"She had already accused me of having feelings for you," Hermione said with a grin and Severus smirked.

"I never much cared for the Weasley family, but I suppose I could make an exception for her."

Hermione put her arms around him and pulled him down further. She was about to kiss him when he stopped her, pulling away a bit.

"Tell me Hermione…"

"Hmm?"

"Did you accomplish all the things on your list?"

Hermione thought seriously for a moment, wanting to give an honest answer to his question.

"I can't say for certain," she said thoughtfully. "But I think I've made a very good start."

Severus lowered his mouth and kissed her neck.

"Yes," he whispered in her ear, making her shiver, "I think you have too."

He slid back into bed next to her and Hermione's last coherent thought was that for once in her life she was wrong. Life hadn't lost its magic; she just hadn't known where to look for it.


End file.
